10 Royal Moments That Made Us Smile In 2017

It's been another eventful year for the Royal Family, with the the announcement of another royal baby and a royal wedding to look forward to in 2018. But some of our favourite royal highlights were more informal moments.

1. Kate, William, and Harry racing each other to promote mental health

As part of their Heads Together campaign, Their Royal Highnesses hit the running track at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park with people training for the 2017 London Marathon.

2. The Queen meeting an elephant

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh opened the new Centre for Elephant Care at Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire, where The Queen fed a banana to Donna the elephant.

3. Prince George and Princess Charlotte stealing the show at Pippa Middleton's wedding to James Matthews

The wedding took place in St Mark's church in Berkshire. Prince George was a page boy, and Princess Charlotte was a flower girl at the ceremony.

Related article: Meghan Markle's Half-Sister Hits Back at Prince Harry's Comments About Her Family

4. Princess Charlotte delivering her first royal curtsy

It happened moments before Princess Charlotte boarded the plane in Warsaw, Poland, for Berlin with her brother and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Upon landing in Berlin, Princess Charlotte also perfectly executed her first diplomatic handshake.

5. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge making pretzels during an official royal visit to Germany

Local bakers in Heidelberg showed the royal couple how to make the traditional German snack, which triggered laughter from their Royal Highnesses as they competed to make the best pretzels.

Related article: The Greatest Royal Family Moments To Relive From 2017

6. Prince George's delight inspecting helicopter models in Hamburg

The trip was an early birthday treat for the Prince. He particularly enjoyed climbing in the cockpit of one model.

7. The Duke of Cambridge taking Prince George to his first day of school

Prince George started at Thomas's Battersea accompanied by Prince William, and Helen Haslem, the head of lower school. His walk to school was later shared on Kensington Palace's official Instagram account.

8. Prince Harry hanging out with Barack Obama and Joe Biden at the Invictus Games

The group were watching the wheelchair basketball tournament in Toronto, Canada.

Related Article: 7 Things We Learned From Prince Harry Interviewing Barack Obama

9. The Duchess of Cambridge dancing with Paddington Bear

The Duchess of Cambridge joined Prince William and Prince Harry at an event aboard the British Pullman, sister to the Orient Express train. Paddington Bear was also there to represent the cast of the upcoming Paddington 2 movie and somehow convinced the Duchess to show off a few dance moves on the platform.

10. The Queen and Prince Philip's 70th wedding anniversary portrait

Ahead of their platinum wedding anniversary, new photographs of the Queen and His Royal Highness were released on the official Royal Family Facebook page and other social media platforms. The portraits were taken inside the White Drawing Room at Windsor Castle by British photographer Matt Holyoak in early November.

This article originally appeared on Harper's BAZAAR UK